Top 25 Albums of 2009

#1 Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz

Yes, I love Karen O and I'm not afraid to admit it.

#2 Gallows – Grey Britain

"I keep a fresh razor blade in the sole of my shoes. It helps when I get stuck thinking of you."

#3 Converge – Axe To Fall

They just keep getting better and better.

#4 Heartless Bastards – The Mountain

The record I wanted Lucero to write this year....if Lucero had a female singer who was a much better vocalist than Ben Nichols.

#5 The Devin Townsend Project – Addicted!

Talk about appropriately named (if it was named Addictive! instead).

#6 Slayer – World Painted Blood

SLAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#7 Deer Tick – Born On Flag Day

Don't you love it when you accidentally stumble on a band and they wind up being a new favorite?

#8 Mastodon – Crack The Skye

Time Magazine may have given this record backhanded compliments, but even the mainstream now understands the genius of this band.

#9 The Big Pink – A Brief History Of Love

Damn you Brit pop, you've done it again.

#10 Goes Cube – Another Day Has Passed

Take some Helmet and Quicksand, punk it up, then thrash it up and call it Goes Cube.

#11 U2 – No Line On The Horizon

Yes, the first single sucked, but the rest of the album sure as hell didn't.

#12 Coalesce – Ox

Mama said knock you out.

#13 Kreator – Hordes of Chaos

Old school thrash bands are supposed to retire or really fail in the quality control department as years go on. Kreator did not get that memo.

#14 The Company Band – s/t

The best Clutch record since Pure Rock Fury.

#15 City Of Ships – Look What God Did To Us

God gave us this record.

#16 White Lies – To Lose My Life

Thanks for taking over for The Killers since they now suck.

#17 Future Of The Left – Travels With Myself And Another

"Lapsed Catholics are the worst."

#18 Alice In Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue

This record was supposed to fail, but it just definitively proved that Jerry Cantrell is/was the brains behind AIC.

#19 Katatonia – Night Is The New Day

I used to refer to this kind of music as "dork metal", but now I can't because I finally get it.

#20 Wolfmother – Cosmic Egg

And Wolfmother gives the sophomore slump the middle finger.

#21 Tombs – Winter Hours

The New York metal renaissance continues...

#22 Pelican – What We All Come To Need

Some people don't get this band. I'm not one of those people.

#23 A Place To Bury Strangers – Exploding Head

Sure they are ripping Jesus And Mary Chain off, but at least they are doing it well.

#24 Brand New – Daisy

Aren't these guys supposed to be generic pop punk/screamo crap?

#25 Telekinesis – Telekinesis!

I'm supposed to hate this kind of indie rock. Supposed to.

Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order):

1. Agoraphobic Nosebleed – Agorapocalypse
2. Animals As Leaders – s/t
3. Baroness – The Blue Album
4. Brutal Truth – Evolution Through Revolution
5. Burnt By The Sun – Heart Of Darkness
6. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
7. Celeste – Misanthrope(s)
8. Dinosaur Jr. – Farm
9. Drive-By Truckers – The Fine Print (A Collection Of Oddities and Rarities 2003 – 2008)
10. Dysrhythmia – Psychic Maps
11. Patterson Hood – Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs)
12. L’Homme Puma - On Remplace Les Yeux Cassés
13. Howl – s/t EP (can’t wait for the full length!)
14. If These Trees Could Talk – Above The Earth, Below The Sky
15. Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit – s/t
16. Jay–Z – The Blueprint 3
17. Jesu – Infinity / Opiate Sun
18. Lucero – 1372 Overton Park
19. Noisettes – Wild Young Heart
20. Revocation – Existence Is Futile
21. Russian Circles – Geneva
22. Scale The Summit – Carving Desert Canyons
23. Skeletonwitch – Breathing The Fire
24. Wolves In The Throne Room – Black Cascade